Dance groups from all across north Georgia are set to perform at the 50th annual Mountain Moonshine Festival this weekend.

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Starting today (Oct. 27) Dawson County’s population of approximately 23,000 is expected to explode to nearly 100,000 as visitors from as far away as North Dakota join the locals in the 50^th celebration of the Mountain Moonshine Festival.

The event will have a major economic impact on the area and serve as the biggest fundraiser of the year for K.A.R.E. for Kids, a 501c3 non-profit that provides necessities for Dawson County children like winter coats, shoes, medicine, eye glasses and educational resources. KA.R.E. organizes and hosts the event.

Vintage cars will be on display Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

In Dawsonville, auto racing and moonshine running are forever linked since auto racing was started by men who hauled ‘shine for a living and raced for “just for the hell of it.” Some of the most famous, or infamous, of those men grew up on the dirt backroads here. Hence the Mountain Moonshine Festival.

Christie Haynes, president of the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce, says visitors have already begun to arrive for one of north Georgia’s premier fall festivals.

“We already have visitors here,” she said. “Some arrived as early as Monday. Some of the hotels in nearby Dahlonega are filled. Many of the visitors attended Dahlonega’s Gold Rush Days Festival last weekend and decided to stay over.”

The fun begins Friday with a car show and swap meet from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Car enthusiasts will enjoy the Moonshine Festival’s fabulous car show and swap meet.

On Saturday, retired Winston Cup driver Jody Ridley will serve as Grand Marshall for the parade at 9 a.m. Ridley competed for 36 years and won 580 feature events. The parade features new and vintage automobiles, many from the moonshine era. The cars will then participate in a massive car show, giving car enthusiasts a chance to view them close up.

The parade will be followed by the induction of the 2017 inductees into the Moonshine Hall of Fame and Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, John Henry Shoffeittas, Junior Johnson, Frank Bearden, John Will Phillips and L.D. Chester, of Dawsonville.

Five racers from various racing classes will also be inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, including Garry Dingler, Jabez Jones, Mike Love, Doc Bundy and the late Bobby Jones.

Music will ring out throughout the city all three days. There will be dancing exhibitions by award-winning dance teams, hundreds of vendors selling beautiful and unique handmade arts and crafts, not to mention delicious food.

The Mountain Moonshine Festival is one of Georgia’s finest fall festivals and it benefits a worthy cause, K.A.R.E. for Kids.

See ya there!

For information on becoming a K.A.R.E. volunteer, please e-mail K.A.R.E. at [email protected] or come to a meeting. K.A.R.E. meets the fourth Monday of each month at the City Hall of Dawsonville, 7 p.m.

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